The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'-Chapter 380 - Suddenly Emotional, Suddenly Scolded, Suddenly…

Chapter 380: Chapter 380 - Suddenly Emotional, Suddenly Scolded, Suddenly...

"Commander? Is everything well?"

The healer Empath’s voice carried some genuine concern from nearby and Qatrand realized she had been standing motionless for several minutes. While all the spiritually compressed information was studied, the sword in her grip was held tight and the Skydancer recovered.

|**You are stronger than you know. She loves you beyond measure and will find a way home to you. Trust yourself as she does.**|

Energy began to fade, leaving behind only the echoes of Elua and the avatar’s presence from the original tiny spark... and the bird’s increasingly agitated movements as the others of the strikeforce began to circle. Qat forced herself to focus on what was necessary.

"I need... to go back and speak with the regional commander as soon as we can. When we are done here with-"

While speaking, the truth settled in deeper. That Elua was gone, potentially for months. A similar estimate to the length of the invasion - but trapped somewhere beyond normal reach.

Pigeon blues blurred momentarily with a wetness before she closed her eyes. She wasn’t exactly as adamant as her family members that a person should hold back their tears, but it didn’t feel deserved. She trusted her mint-drop was safe.

’And I’m sure my body is misbehaving in other ways again.’

The young cultivator was right, as all but one stripe of her hair was now blonde. Hollow aching from being distant from her wife intensified around her heart-bound fragment, becoming a sharper pain that threatened to drive her to her knees... as it did the Empath trying to touch too close to a Primalist’s discomposure.

"Qatrand?"

Leysah approached directly, with all her martial ability at the ready. Whatever the bird had just done... it clearly set the Yecine off. Professional concern moved to something approaching personal alarm.

The entire strike force was taking notice of their leader’s mounting distress and the curved blade wielder wasn’t sure she could do anything about it. Whether it was comforting any of them or even protecting everyone if the strong sword wielder turned... weird.

She still wasn’t sure why that idea was in her head, though it didn’t feel as compelling as it had during the assessments. Leysah had actually grown into something closer to friends forged in battle after fighting side by side with Qatrand. Which is why she knew things were incredibly off.

"Change of orders. We return to the forward base immediately. Pack everything. I want us moving within the hour."

Qatrand forced her spine straight, her voice low and steady. Her hair blackened rapidly and she sheathed the blade while harnessing it to her back.

"Sir? The sweep isn’t complete. Command expects-"

Her look silenced the Ironclad fighter who had tried to plant political seeds weeks ago. Pigeon blues met his gaze with the flat stare of someone who had just lost all patience for subtle manipulation. Especially the kind that weren’t even a fraction of her wife’s capability.

"Command will understand. They should be receiving official notices soon of a personal emergency requiring my immediate return. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No sir. Not at all."

His quick retreat suggested he recognized the dangerous shift in her demeanor. The same one that the Kinetic Element wielder already had. Which was fine with the teenager put in charge of so many older individuals.

Qat had no mental space for managing planted agents and hidden agendas. At least not for the remainder of the first evening after receiving such news. But she did feel a little bad and stepped over to help the healer to her feet.

Having touched the negative emotions sent out by the heiress, she knew that coming into doing such a thing unprepared was a recipe for discomfort at minimum. But she also knew that the person had remained competent so far and did not push boundaries.

"My wife would have told you not to do that. Your place as a healer is to keep yourself safe. Poking your spirit into that of others, especially when they are unstable, is the very antithesis of that."

"S-sorry, Commander..."

As the members of the strike force bustled into rapid preparation for departure, only one stood close by the muscular swordswoman with a critical eye. Watching the bird nestle against the black collar, Leysah still wasn’t sure what had just happened.

"What sort of message did it bring, if I am allowed to ask."

"Bad news."

"Clearly. I thought you were about to go berserk."

A tilt of her head let the heavy blade wielder see that the woman was still clutching her blades.

"Clearly."

⟠ ⟠ ⟠

The forward base’s commander had taken the news from the Yecine with appropriate gravity, immediately arranging for fresh horses and a small escort detail. Which she refused. But when Leysah volunteered to accompany her personally, citing the security concern for a high-value person traveling during wartime... Qat hadn’t protested.

Now, twelve hours into what should have been a three-day journey on horseback, the older woman was beginning to regret a lot of decisions. Especially teaching any of the little tricks about using her Element for movement she had revealed to the smart heir... and admitting she understood the ones she was taught in return.

"Qatrand. Stop. Please."

The command came sharp and firm from behind the blonde swordswoman, where Leysah had been maintaining the accelerated pace despite the punishing use of mental power. But the curved-blade wielder’s words were almost discarded by the ’husband’ who was being pulled to action.

"We need to reach-"

"You need rest. And frankly, so do I. An hour ago. Whatever crisis is waiting for you won’t be solved by you arriving there half-dead from exhaustion."

Pigeon blues turned back to find an expression set with the same determination she’d shown in battle against Voidlings. Without waiting for agreement, Leysah slowed and angled off towards a stony slope with good vantage over the area. Qat reluctantly followed.

"We make camp here."

It wasn’t a suggestion and one wondered which of them was supposed to be in charge. The past life disciple had not officially been made the second in command, but this attitude was making the young Yecine consider it.

"Fine. But we leave before dawn."

The woman nodded before moving to gather deadfall for a fire. Soon their packs and bedrolls were set up far enough away from the warmth and they both chewed on dried meat... that for one of them tasted incredibly unsatisfying. Almost like ash.

"So. Are you going to tell me what is really going on?"

The blunt question caught Qat off guard. She looked up sharply to meet Leysah’s steady gaze.

"What makes you think I haven’t explained what I know?"

"Because you’ve faced down fights without breaking a sweat that had me biting the inside of my cheek. But one bird shows up and you change... just like you were rumored to have done when a Leader-class threatened the safety of Elua."

Rumors really did get around and this occurrence was known by everyone in the strike force. People were still talking about the impressive two kill count when they showed up for assessments to be assigned to the roving military unit.

"She’s missing."

"...Missing. How?"

"That’s what I intend to find out."

The fire crackled between them, with Qat not quite ashamed of lying... for she meant what she said. Finding out how her reborn ancient cultivator spouse had been placed into the position to encounter this artifact actually was a goal. One completely her own, that hadn’t been suggested by the ’avatar’.

"You’re blaming yourself."

A strong jaw tightened as she stared into the flames. Knowing she couldn’t ignore the well meaning question.

"I do feel like I should have been there. Or that I should have insisted she come with the strike force instead of staying at that fort."

"Because you could have prevented whatever happened if she was close?"

The question hit too close to the uncomfortable truth. Something that happened the way it did, according to the information she was given... the Gravity cultivator could never have done a thing about.

"Look. I know I’m not the best person to give advice. And I know your family has its own ways. But isolation isn’t strength. And carrying everything yourself isn’t protection - it’s simply pride."

For a cultivator whose broken spirit was literally set to isolate herself more from the interaction with others it could have at full potential, the words were almost ironic. But they also sounded so much like advice that El may have given...

Or coincidentally, like something Qatrand may have told her mint-drop. If the situation was reversed. If the heiress had grown withdrawn with the intent to take everything onto herself

"Your wife wouldn’t want you destroying yourself over something you couldn’t control."

"You’re right. That’s true about this situation. And so many others."

The final observation stung like antiseptic. A small cute illusionist would definitely have words about the state Qat was working herself into.

’Probably involving pointed comments about Yecine stubbornness. The difference between honor and self-destruction. And she would be upset that I am this upset, even if she secretly loved everything about my concern.’

"Leysah. Thank you."

Finding herself speaking at the edge of conscious thought, the Yecine flexed and stretched. As she stood and paced, something about the moment made ’confession’ feel safer than it had in years.

Warnings about political enemies who might try to use certain secrets against her had been included in the spiritually passed information. Unassuming, emotionless suggestions that she may want to get ahead of certain narratives by gaining more allies ’in the know’.

"The best person in my life is someone that has never cared about a certain secret of mine. Something that at the time, I couldn’t control."

"...Secret?"

An eyebrow rose on the curved blade wielder, the older cultivator rather confused about the direction of the conversation. Almost as confused as Elua would be one day, when told who Qat had picked for this sort of ’first’.

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